


Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

by siluria



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Christmas, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-30
Updated: 2011-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-26 17:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 13,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/286109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siluria/pseuds/siluria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim has a 'Make Bones Mine' advent calendar.  Every day he implements a new, subtle (well, there abouts) plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the space_wrapped challenge 2010. Prompt #53. Jim has a 'Make Bones Mine' advent calendar.
> 
> Thank you to Kayim xxx

*******

Jim Kirk had a plan.

If you were to ask anyone, most especially Leonard McCoy, if Jim Kirk could be subtle they’d laugh in your face while dialing up the nearest asylum... or in Bones’ case, probably with less of the laughing and more of the glaring and lecturing.

The thing was, Jim could be subtle. It was in the way he calmed a nervous cadet in his TA modules, or he pointed out alternative (for which he meant _right_ ) ways of approaching problems in group exercises. He could manipulate people with little nudges and suggestions, sometimes for their benefit, sometimes for his own, and he wasn’t ashamed of it.

Most people would say Jim Kirk was as subtle as a Klingon in an Orion harem, which he supposed was a fair analogy. He made it obvious, most of the time, what he wanted, what he thought. His problem was that even though Jim Kirk was obvious to everyone at the Academy, it seemed his best friend was completely impervious to every suggestion, every come-on, and every drunken grope that Jim had flung at him. He would have thought that Bones would at least have noted his persistence and that his interest didn’t wilt in the shadow of the next pretty face to walk past him.

In short, Jim wanted Bones. Had _only_ wanted Bones for what seemed like months. And Bones was ignoring every move he made. Obvious wasn’t working. Jim had thus decided subtlety was in order... with maybe a great big blatant _slap up the side of the head_ obvious gesture to top it all off.

Jim Kirk had a plan. He called it _Operation Make Bones Mine_. Or at least until he could think of something else to call it that was a better fit for his cunningness... or had a great abbreviation, like the Bulletin Of Obstetric Biotherapeutic Studies. Bones hadn’t brought that piece of riveting literature home with him since the unfortunate incident where Jim perhaps didn’t display the level of maturity he could have done.

He had 24 days. Hopefully by the 25th he’d have something far better to keep him occupied than thinking up a codename for his plan.


	2. 1 December 2256

  
<[](http://imgbox.com/QJrGEF2N)

Jim suspected some parts of his big plan, abbreviated to “BP” just in case of unexpected PADD misplacement, would have Bones doing eyebrow gymnastics, or maybe shining bright lights in his eyes and dragging him off for a multitude of invasive medical procedures just to make sure he hadn’t lost his mind. And while the first was a turn on for Jim, the second was only really a turn on if there were no antiseptic smells, he wasn’t within 30 feet of a hypospray, and the inserting wasn’t being done with ice cold medical grade titanium.

His “BP” was going to start off as subtle as it got. A stealthy sneak mission while the target was subdued. In simplistic terms, a cup of hot black tar that Bones called “coffee” being set on his dresser two minutes before his alarm went off. He figured Bones would appreciate it, anything to make a Monday morning more bearable was a plus in anyone’s book, and where grumpy caffeine-addicted doctors were concerned it was practically the only thing to get them going. As much as Jim wanted to hang around to see a sleepy Bones and that moment of pure joy that crossed his face with the first caffeine dose of the day, Jim decided that subtlety did not involve hanging around and looking for gratitude for his ‘selfless’ act of kindness. No matter how un-selfless that act had been. It didn’t stop him checking his messages every five minutes though to see if Bones was willing to voice his certain appreciation.

He was rather dejectedly stirring his coffee while Bones regaled him with the latest stupid stunt he’d had to deal with in between bites of his lunch. It had something to do with mixing up potassium nitrate and potassium carbonate and someone’s digestive system, and Jim really didn’t understand how Bones could deal with all that and still enjoy his food.

“You were up and out early.”

The spoon clattered against the side of his mug. “Huh?”

“You were out earlier than normal. Everything ok?”

“Yeah, I just went to the gym, needed to sort out some finishing touches for the Advanced Combat TA practical I have tomorrow.”

Bones stared at him and Jim made sure he kept his expression light and innocent, or innocent enough that Bones didn’t get suspicious. He finally shrugged and turned his attention back to his plate, spearing the last of the fries. “Thanks for the coffee this morning.”

Jim smiled. Success. “You’re welcome.”


	3. 2 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/f5Mn6k1T)

Men didn’t pay each other compliments. Well, unless it was about how much alcohol someone could hold, or getting that winning touchdown with a perfect drive. This meant that Jim’s compliment had to be opportunistic, and it all relied on Bones giving him the perfect opening.

The thing was about Bones that he didn’t worry what people thought about him. He didn’t dress to impress, only for comfort and practicality, and he didn’t do anything for the praise or prestige only to make sure he was the best at what he did in order that he could save everyone. Jim could easily recall Bones’ reaction to Starfleet Medical’s attempts to award him a Cochrane Medal for keeping the wife of some visiting Andorian dignitary from an agonizing death. Bones really hated people applauding him for doing his job, “ _dammit_ ”. So the question was what was Jim to compliment him on?

Being so early in his “BP”, he didn’t want to show his hand by complimenting Bones on his looks, or dress, or lips... God, those lips really taunted him, especially when Bones was trying to solve a problem and his teeth worried his bottom lip and... thoughts like that didn’t help!

Breakfast had gone by quickly, Bones seeming to be distracted, picking at his eggs and moving them around his plate rather than making any moves to eat. Jim had tried to distract him with inane chatter about anything he could think of, but with the exception of a few muttered affirmatives and a dismissive wave of his hand when Jim asked him what was wrong, he’d been silent.

Jim’s fingers had hovered over his PADD for most of the day, itching to send Bones a message, see if he needed anything. Bones had waved off lunch at the last minute, claiming he had to see his tutor after class, an excuse that had Jim pulling up Bones’ schedule. The class prior to lunch was Neural Pathology. Bones could have written the class and done a better job than anyone Starfleet could conjure up from across countless galaxies. That wasn’t the source of Bones’ unease. Even if he knew he’d have to chew out a lecturer for teaching the students a load of crap, he certainly wouldn’t be worried about it. Jim wouldn’t have been surprised if Bones was positively gleeful!

So if it wasn’t the class he was in that Bones needed to see the tutor for, then it was one he had coming up. Jim scrolled through the afternoon schedule with no clue. He almost didn’t look at the following day. He paused when it all became clear, glaring at him from his PADD in golden text.

Jim skipped his last class of the day, his “BP” long ago shoved back to the recesses of his mind when Bones’ unease, and the reason for it, became clear. It took him longer than he thought to track his friend down. He’d veered from his route that would have taken him towards their usual bars when he realized he hadn’t seen Bones reach for the booze after a bad day in a long time. Instead he headed towards the Bay.

The sun was dipping below the horizon when he finally recognized the hunched form sat on Presidio Hill staring out at the bridge and the Bay. Jim sat down quietly beside him and wrapped his arms round his knees, watching as the lights flickered on in the gloom that settled over the city. He saw Bones turn his head briefly towards him, his shoulders rising as he sucked in a slow, deep breath.

Jim stayed quiet as he followed the blinking lights of a shuttle on approach, the cruiser heading back to the Academy hangar, likely coming from orbital maneuvers. The faint but rhythmic flashes higher up in the sky indicated the rest of the class heading in too.

San Francisco was draped in darkness. The second shuttle had landed, the third almost skimming the still water of the Bay as it dipped low before disappearing into the bright lights of the hangar bay. Only then did Bones break the silence.

“I told McKenzie I wasn’t doing the solo flight.”

Jim paused long enough only to take a deep breath. “What did he say?”

“Told me Pike had briefed him on my aviaphobia before I started the class, and that he’d been expecting the freak out.”

“And?”

Bones snorted. “He let me freak out. Then told me I was going up anyway.”

“You still freaking?”

Bones ducked his head, one hand reaching out to pluck a blade of grass. Jim watched those long, surgeon’s fingers as they ripped the blade into two perfectly symmetrical pieces. He flung them down before sighing. “Maybe.”

“What makes you think you can’t do it?”

Bones shrugged and reached for another blade of grass.

“I know you’re too much of a perfectionist not to have read up on all the theory.” Bones huffed, but nodded once when Jim made it obvious he was waiting for an answer. “I know you hate flying. I know you hate anything that isn’t touching solid ground. And I know you don’t give up.”

“I did today.” Bones voice was low, self-depreciating, and Jim clenched his fingers into a fist.

“What do you do when nerves kick in when you have a patient in front of you?”

“They don’t.” And Jim knew Bones was telling the absolute truth.

“Why not?”

Bones waved a hand in Jim’s direction. “Because I know what I’m doing, I know that even if I’m faced with something I haven’t seen outside of theory, that I can use what I do know to work it out.”

“And flying a shuttle is different how?”

Bones scrubbed a hand across his face, before his fingers clutched a handful of his hair. “If something goes wrong, I don’t think I can keep it together to use what I know to fix it.”

Jim stayed silent for a while. “Did you pass your theory?”

“Yeah.” Bones’ drawl drew the word out into two syllables, and Jim could hear the tiredness and the stress in that one word.

“Did you pass the flight sims?”

Bones huffed. “Jim, they wouldn’t be making me go up on a solo flight if I’d flunked the other tests, but the crucial difference here is that I’m up there on my own.”

“If you were out in the field on your own with only a field med-kit and someone bleeding out in front of you, would you freak?”

“That helps no-one Jim, and that’s my comfort zone. I’m not about to let someone die if I can help it.”

Jim smiled. “So imagine you have someone in the back of the shuttle that needs medical attention and you’re the only one that can get them to aid. Because I have to tell you, I think you’re a genius. It takes one to know one right?” Bones turned his head and frowned at him. Jim smiled wider. “I know you can do anything you put your mind to.”

Bones was quiet for so long that Jim thought he’d ignored him. Just as Jim was preparing to joke off his sappy vote of confidence, Bones straightened up, a lop-sided smile on his face.

“Anything, huh?”

Jim smiled and ducked his head. “Yeah, Bones. Anything.”

Bones pushed himself to his feet, and Jim felt a heavy hand rest on his shoulder before squeezing briefly. Jim turned his head to look at Bones over his shoulder, reaching for the hand that was held out to him he let the other man haul him upright.

“Thanks Jim.” Bones voice was low, hushed, but his eyes were fixed on Jim’s to convey every meaning in his words.

Jim smiled and slapped Bones on his shoulder. “Anytime. Now, I’m starved. Chinese?”

Bones chuckled. “Yeah, I could eat.”

As Bones turned towards the path that would take them back down the hill into the city, Jim paused a moment. He wondered if he could class Day 2 of his “BP” a success or not, either way he felt good, he hoped Bones felt better too.


	4. 3 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/f7ncukvs)   


 

Jim glanced at his watch as he shoved his PADD into his messenger bag, glad that Professor J’aal had finally stopped boring the class on the pronunciation of the three million Klingon words for honor and death. If he ran he could make it in time to the hangar to meet Bones after his shuttle flight practical. He tossed a wave over his shoulder when the admittedly gorgeous girl he’d been sat next to said bye in that breathy voice. Given another life… or maybe a year ago, and he’d have hung around to see just how breathy she could get with his mouth bringing her off. However, even if he didn’t have the hots for Bones, and a “BP” already in motion to get his man, he’d still have wanted to be waiting at the hangar just to be there for his friend after his hour of hell.

The door to the lecture hall slid shut behind him and he sprinted across the quad, weaving between groups of students as they exited the various lecture rooms, voicing the occasional sorry when he brushed a little too close. He was breathing heavily by the time he pushed open the door to the hangar, but with only a couple of the shuttles back in the bay he hoped he was still in time to catch Bones as he came back.

The next shuttle was moving back into the hangar, Jim’s critical eye cataloguing the approach, the speed, and figured if anyone could hit the bay dead center then they must have done alright. The shuttle touched the ground a little heavier than would generally be classed as text-book, but Jim figured they’d probably done just fine. He moved his eyes back to the hangar doors hoping that Bones wouldn’t be too long, but his eyes caught familiar movement at the newly arrived shuttle and his gaze swung back.

He smiled brightly as he recognized Bones as he jumped down from the open shuttle door, his eyes cataloguing the pale, and maybe a little green, features. Bones was holding himself stiffly as he waited for McKenzie and the verdict on whether or not he could hold it together. McKenzie was messing with the PADD in his hands as he approached, and Jim found himself bouncing on his feet as he waited impatiently. Finally McKenzie looked up and clearly said something that made Bones’ posture loosen and a tentative smile break out on his face. Jim sighed in relief as Bones shook McKenzie’s offered hand, and edged around the hangar until he was waiting at the locker room door.

Bones’ smile widened when he saw Jim, and Jim couldn’t help but smile back.

“So?” he asked, when Bones had reached him.

Bones shrugged. “Not my highest score for a module, but then not the lowest either.”

“You passed then?”

Bones grinned, “And then some. And I get a semester off before I have to do it all again with the space flights.”

Jim grinned back and clapped Bones on the shoulder. “See, I said you could do it if you put your mind to it.”

“I still might throw up on you though,” Bones warned.

Jim shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Bones shook his head. “Let me just get my stuff and we’ll hit the bar. I need a drink.”

Jim followed him into the locker room. As Bones opened the locker and grabbed his bag, Jim dipped a hand into his messenger bag and pulled out the package he’d been holding onto for weeks. He toyed with the edges of the brown paper bag. He’d been intending to save the gift until Christmas, or sometime after that when he finally plucked up the courage to give it to Bones. He wondered if now was the right time, whether he shouldn’t have just gone with the first idea he’d selected for “BP” Day 3, but as Bones came to stand in front of him, he found himself holding the package out.

“Here. I got you something for when you passed.”

Bones frowned. “You didn’t have to do that. You had faith in me. That’s more than I did.”

Jim waved the package when it appeared that Bones wasn’t going to accept it. Finally Bones slipped his bag over his shoulder and reached out tentatively for the gift. He peaked into the bag, his eyebrows shooting upwards as he looked up straight into Jim’s eyes. Jim shrugged and smiled. “You mentioned that you’d been looking for it, I thought I’d get it while I saw it.”

“Looking for it? I’ve practically begged every antique bookstore in town to comm me if they got a copy.”

Bones lifted the antique book from the bag with a gentle reverence. Jim knew how badly Bones had wanted a copy of _Treasure Island_. He’d overheard him talking to one of the booksellers when he’d been browsing the classics section. In a way Jim felt bad about going behind Bones’ back and persuading the proprietor to contact him first, and he’d only managed it when he’d convinced the man that he was buying the copy for his friend as a gift and that he would get it regardless. He’d received the call four weeks ago, and had found a place to hide the book that he was sure Bones wouldn’t look in.

“Thank you.” Bones’ voice was a whisper, and he seemed reluctant to let the book out of his sight as he slowly placed it back into the paper bag, and then carefully found a place within his messenger bag.

Jim smiled. “You’re welcome. And congratulations!”

Bones smiled warmly, and Jim almost sighed out loud. “Did I ever tell you why I wanted it?” Jim shook his head. “Then let’s go get that drink and I’ll tell you all about a kid, his dad’s knack for telling a story, and the continuing adventures of a stuffed parrot called Roger.”

Jim grinned and tried not to let himself lean into Bones’ warmth as he slung an arm over Jim’s shoulder and steered them towards the exit.


	5. 4 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/p5VFf0k7)   


Jim hated Thursdays almost as much as Bones did. To be fair, Bones had the shorter stick having to work until 2am after a full day of classes, but Jim found the quiet in their room dragged the hours out until he’d lost all sense of sight staring at his PADD. He supposed it was a productive day in terms of getting his coursework and essays finished, but he found the time and the words came easier when Bones was in the room.

The other thing he hated about Thursdays was that Bones failed to practice what he preached and would always come in straight from Medical and just crash without making sure he got something to eat or taking the time to let the day get out of his system. It also made him super-grouchy on Fridays, and in Jim’s view, Fridays were supposed to be the easiest day of the week.

Day 4 of his “BP” had come fairly early on his list of romantic gestures. The whole “BP” had actually come to him one night when he just happened to still be awake when Bones came back from a particularly bad shift. Jim had managed to pry out of him that he hadn’t eaten since lunch, the coffee machine was broken on the ward and there’d been a major accident on the highway that had overflowed from San Francisco General into Starfleet Medical. Bones shrugged it off as being part of the job and one he’d become so used to whilst an intern, but Jim had felt the waves of exhaustion and stress flow from him. Bones had barely peeled his uniform off before he dropped onto his bed and didn’t move for 10 hours. The thought had come to Jim the next day, that while Bones was so concerned with Jim’s well-being, he was less concerned with his own, and Jim felt it was his duty to return the favor.

His plan was simple – get takeout delivered to Bones whilst he was on his break. The problem with that was if it was a busy night and Bones didn’t get anywhere near his scheduled break, because wasting a good hot takeout was a sacrilege and therefore not worth delivering in the first place. In the end he settled for the all-night deli that sat across from the hospital. Jim had met Bones there a few times, enough to know that the hospital staff were on first name terms and quite often had their ‘usual’ waiting for them before they even walked through the door. A quick call confirmed that they would drop in his order.

Jim settled for a sandwich with decent slab of pie for dessert, subtlety worked out which department Bones would be working in based on his rotations, and sweet-talked the head nurse until he agreed to make sure that Bones got his care-package.

He was half way through his essay on _Pre-Warp propulsion_ when his PADD beeped to let him know he had a new message from Bones. He glanced at the chrono display in the corner of the screen and smiled – looked like Bones had made his scheduled break after all.

 

_Jim,  
I’m touched by your attempts to ensure I eat a staple diet, especially when I doubt your plate at dinner held anything close to being vegetable in origin… _

Jim eyed the remnants of his burger and fries and decided potatoes were an expectable vegetable.

_… and I don’t include fries in that category, nor ketchup, as I’m fairly sure any possible goodness has been fried out of what once was in the ground._

_But, I appreciate the thought, and the pie hit the spot. Thank you._

_B_

 

Jim smiled as he flicked the screen back to his essay. He wondered what Bones really made of his dinner delivery, and hoped it wasn’t too much too soon, he had another 20 days after all.


	6. 5 December 2256

[ ](http://imgbox.com/Ypoc2dPn)

He struggled at first to find some grand gesture for today. With Bones’ shift the night before, he slept all morning, crept out to his first class just after lunch looking like death warmed over, then usually refused every attempt of Jim’s to drag him out of the room later that night in search of fun. It was that last thought that stayed with him and instead of heading out to find the aforementioned fun, he figured he could persuade Bones into a quiet night in with a few cold beers and a completely unbelievable action movie to watch. He had a few of those picked out in case Bones had developed a sudden pickiness when it came to mindless drivel.

“No.”

“No what?” Jim asked in response to Bones’ first comment of the day.

“No I’m not letting you drag me out. It’s like standing under a waterfall out there, it’s cold, I’m tired and I really will leave your drunken ass on a street corner this time if you comm me.”

“There’s a couple of six packs in fridge already chilled, the pizza should be here in about ten minutes, and I picked out something mindless for us to watch while we chill out.”

Bones stilled and fell silent. Jim waited him out. “Ok,” he said finally. Jim grinned.

By the time the pizza arrived, Bones had changed out of his reds into what had to be his oldest pair of sweats and a t-shirt Jim could only presume had once been black. They’d both sunk their first beer, were well into their second, and were completely taking apart the latest reboot of what had once been a classic space saga.

Jim dropped his empty pizza box over the side of the sofa and shuffled against the cushions, his feet propped up on the small table. The cushion dipped, unsettling him slightly as Bones tutted and stood up to remove both boxes to the kitchenette. Jim took the offered beer when he returned and Bones dropped back onto the sofa, mirroring Jim’s pose.

They watched the second movie in silence, and it was only when Jim felt the pressure increase against his side that he realized that Bones had fallen asleep. His head had fallen back over the top of the sofa, and Jim was giving him until the end of the movie before he disturbed him - cranky tired Bones with a crick in his neck wasn’t the best start to the weekend. As it was, Jim could take his fill, the way Bones looked so relaxed, a slight smile on his face, his disheveled hair falling across his eyes. It was these moments that Jim was more determined than ever to make his plan work. He couldn’t imagine it not.


	7. 6 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/xY3xTFt8)   


Jim never classed himself as a slob, he barely had enough possessions to leave lying about in order to make that much of a mess anyway, but he did sometimes leave a plate on his dresser, or a mug here and there on his desk. Then maybe the odd sock that seemed to magically separate from the rest of his pairs and somehow end up under the bed. Bones wasn’t obsessive about tidiness either, although he did tend to have a place for things, he claimed it was borne of his days on call when he needed to be able to find things quickly in a tired stupor.

Their room had seen better days, and Jim admitted to himself that he usually left it until Bones couldn’t stand it anymore and stomped from one end of the room to the other flinging whatever mess of Jim’s he found onto Jim’s bed. At that point, it was tidy up or sleep on the floor. The only time Jim proactively cleaned was when he’d managed to gather intelligence that dorm inspections were looming. This time however, Jim decided to get ahead of Bones and tidy up for him. His plan even involved stripping the beds.

He was just fighting with the clean duvet cover on his bed when Bones came back in from the library. Jim’s head was stuffed into one of the corners of the duvet and he couldn’t quite work out which one in order to orientate himself when he heard the familiar hiss of the door.

“Need a hand?” Bones’ voice held an undercurrent of amusement.

Jim sighed in relief and thrust out one of the corners in what he hoped was Bones’ direction. “Yeah, just grab this corner.”

There was a dark shape that moved in his direction, and a hand that grabbed onto the cover and duvet. Jim wiggled his way out of the duvet, silently cursing the static that prickled his skin, he was pretty positive his hair was dancing in all directions when Bones chuckled. Between them they managed to get the duvet straight in the cover.

“Thanks,” Jim said brightly, before smoothing the cover down on his bed. “You’re back early.”

Bones shrugged. “Needed my other PADD, but don’t worry I’ll be out of your hair.”

Jim frowned. “It’s your room too, you’re not bothering me.”

“Well, I’m just grabbing this,” he said, holding the PADD up that he’d just located. “Just comm me when you’re done. I don’t intend on standing in the corridor all night waiting for the walk of shame.”

With that he headed back out the door, the metal sliding shut on Jim’s confusion. ‘Walk of shame?’ _Well, crap,_ Jim thought. Bones actually thought he’d tidied up because he was bringing a date back. Major set-backs for the “BP” hadn’t been on his agenda, but this definitely landed heavily in the failure pile.


	8. 7 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/1dPl5ycq)   


 

Jim wasn’t sure that doing both their laundry was advisable after the misunderstanding yesterday. He figured it could be seen as a thank you for Bones giving him ‘space’ for his imagined date, or even a guilty response to keeping Bones out of his own room. But Jim had set aside the day for this task, and he was determined to stick with it.

He hadn’t let Bones stay out too long. It was only a couple of hours later when he’d comm’d him to apologize and ask him if he was heading home. He’d debated with comm-ing Bones as soon as he’d walked out the door, or sending a message to say he’d jumped to the wrong conclusions. Jim finally decided that it might look too obvious and that he should just suck it up. When Bones had returned, he’d cast a brief glance around the dorm, before moving over to his side of the room and dropped his bag and himself on the bed. He didn’t bring up the imaginary date, and Jim never got an opening to explain himself.

He hadn’t slept well last night, and his eyes were stuck staring as the machine whirled through its spin cycle. He barely noticed when the machine finished, and he blinked owlishly at the person that had just tapped him on his shoulder.

“Are you done with that?”

The man smiled at him, and Jim swung his attention back to the machine when he pointed a finger in its direction. “Oh yeah, sorry.”

“Big night out?”

Jim shook his head as he started to pull the warm, dry clothes from the machine. “Nah.”

“Do you want one?”

Jim blinked as he turned back to the other man, finally registering the interest there. He sighed and shook his head. A big night out, or in, would be pretty awesome, if the man asking the question was Bones. “No thanks.”

Thankfully the other man just shrugged. “No hard feelings.”

Jim smiled gratefully before hefting the bag of laundry over his shoulder and heading out. Seven days down and Jim felt his plan wasn’t going anywhere, especially if complete strangers were interested and unable to resist the Kirk charm when he was far from at his best. He stepped outside into the San Francisco rain and hoisted the bag higher on his shoulder. Seemed the weather reflected his mood.

He’d just lain Bones’ pressed and folded laundry on his bed when the man himself walked in, his wet scrubs clinging to his body, water dripping from his hair. Jim couldn’t stop himself from staring. Bones grumbled a greeting before dumping his bag by his bed. He paused in his movement as he spotted the pile of laundry, his hands reaching for the clean towel that sat at the bottom of the pile. He draped the towel over his head and let out a soft sigh.

It was a few moments before Bones finally emerged from under the towel, a slight smile curling one corner of his mouth. “Thanks, Jim.”

Jim smiled and gave Bones a sloppy salute, not trusting his voice to utter a reply. If the weather was on his side, he figured he could make this work.


	9. 8 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/OvHdHNs1)   


Jim had been preparing for this day for a month. He’d lived with Bones’ building frustrations, and lowering self-belief as each day drifted closer. It had been a while for Bones since he’d been at the forefront of his discipline, when carrying out research and presenting papers had come as easily as getting out of bed in the morning. But there had been a protracted and debilitating divorce since those days, a loss of confidence, and what to some people had been seen as a demotion in joining Starfleet.

The day Bones came back to the dorm and said that one of the professors had asked him to collaborate with her on her latest research was the first time Jim had really seen him excited about being at Starfleet. Instead of it being his last option, Starfleet became somewhere that Bones could actually flourish. He had come to respect the professor he’d been working with for the last year a great deal, although Jim had no doubt the respect was mutual, especially as Harrington was sending Bones to the conference to present their research.

Jim had been reading all of the notes and papers. Not that he’d told Bones this. He’d tried to pick up as much as he could, hiding himself away in the Med School library when he couldn’t understand what they were discussing, and had tried to keep up the best he could. He’d never proclaim himself an expert, and if he was honest he was only just there with understanding what the whole research entailed, but he did understand the significance of it. He also knew what it meant to Bones.

He’d tested out of this semester’s Monday courses last week just so he’d have the day free to go with him, and when he dropped into the seat next to Bones on the shuttle with a grin on his face he’d seen the tense line of Bones’ shoulders lessen just a little. Bones was clearly nervous when he walked on stage, his PADD rattling a little when he placed it on the lectern. And whilst Bones was not the best when it came to public speaking, he never needed to look at his notes, clearly knew what he was talking about, and held everyone’s attention with his passion for his craft.

When Jim held his hand up to ask his carefully researched and prepared question, Bones frowned and would have bypassed him if it hadn’t been for the session chair. But when Jim finished his question, he could see the slight curve to Bones’ lips. And when he finally managed to extricate himself from the numerous academics vying for his attention during the session break, Bones pressed his shoulder to Jim’s as they leaned back against the wall.

“If you tested out of Warp Theory and Stellar Cartography just to take up medicine, I may have to break up with you.”

Jim's heart skipped a beat as he smiled. “Nah, I think I’ll leave that to you. It’s too much like hard work if you ask me.”

“Thanks for the support.” Bones’ voice was hushed, straightening up as he spotted his latest fan heading towards him.

“Always,” Jim whispered as Bones was drawn into another discussion that Jim finally admitted he wasn’t able to follow.


	10. 9 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/YMyyNERE)   


Jim had been mentally compiling a list of songs in his head. Not silly love songs, or ones that would mean anything, or express some emotion he was unwilling to voice, but songs that Bones seemed to actually like. It was an arduous task of recognizing and filing away the sometimes blatant reactions along with the little tells. There were the tunes he tapped his fingers to when they appeared on the radio, whether he recognized them or not. There were the songs he seemed to know every word to when he sang along to them, or recreated them in the shower. Then there were the songs he actively played that would give Jim an idea of what genres and styles he liked enough to spend money on. Overall Jim had quite a collection filed away, right down to the last minute additions that Bones had mentioned he wanted to get hold of sometime.

He’d considered just sending Bones the entire collection, but then he wondered if maybe he wasn’t being a little too obvious considering it was still a way off Christmas and there were no excuses he could hide behind for being quite so generous. In the end he decided to send Bones a message with a link to the folder he’d created, offering him the option to dip in and help himself, or merely use the playlist from his own PADD.

Bones didn’t respond to the message beyond a cursory thanks, but when he walked into their room later that evening humming the riff of one of the songs Jim had purposefully added to the collection, he couldn’t help but smile.


	11. 10 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/ZADtxFWz)   


Jim decided that maybe he should have re-thought his plan to give Bones the candy cane he’d “innocently” picked up while buying groceries. If he’d truly thought about it, the initial idea to see what Bones’ lips looked like wrapped around minty candy, whilst a wonderful idea in principle, was a veritable nightmare for someone trying to be innocent in his intentions.

Bones made an obscene sucking noise as he flicked the screen on his PADD, before resuming his deep-throating of one _very_ lucky candy cane.

Jim swallowed hard, crossed his legs, and pretended to read his PADD.


	12. 11 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/pXwacUrU)   


When Jim stepped through the doors of Starfleet Medical ER he wasn’t quite sure what would greet him - organized chaos or peaceful boredom. Thankfully it seemed like it was somewhere in between yet erring towards peace. Jim knew Bones thrived on the adrenaline that a busy ER shift produced, but he also knew that those shifts after a day of lectures were particularly hard. He didn’t often end up in ER on Thursday’s unless there was a staff shortage; the higher ups seemed to appreciate having one of the best neurosurgeons this side of the galaxy available to them, and as such generally assigned him to the wards. Unfortunately, Bones was a damn good trauma surgeon too, so that meant he often got called up in emergencies. This evening, Bones had rotated into ER, but thankfully it looked like a relatively easy shift.

Jim ambled up to the front desk, adjusting his grip on the bag that held a veritable feast for two. He smiled at the nurse behind the desk, Sandy, according to her name tag.

“Is Dr McCoy free?”

Sandy smiled easily. “He’s with a patient at the moment, but shouldn’t be too long. I’m presuming it’s a social call rather than a professional one?”

Jim nodded. “I figured he’s due on a break soon, and I brought food.”

Sandy glanced at the chrono on the wall over her shoulder, before turning back to Jim, the soft smile friendly. “You can wait in the staff room if you want, I’ll make sure he knows you’re here…?”

“Jim,” he supplied at the questioning tone. “And thank you.”

“The corridor to your left, four doors down on the right side.”

“Thanks.” Jim smiled and headed towards the break room. The lights switched on automatically as the door slid open, and Jim took a good look around the sparse and pristine room. It was a room for function rather than comfort, the only real concession to the lack of luxuries was the clearly expensive coffee maker that sat on one of the surfaces – a necessary indulgence for medical staff.

He’d rifled through the drawers looking for cutlery and plates, and had just finished pulling the various takeaway cartons from the bag when Bones stepped into the room. There was a confused smile on his face as he clearly wondered what Jim was doing here. “Jim?”

“I figured I’d bring dinner, since I’m fairly sure you wouldn’t have brought any of your own.”

Bones shrugged, which was all the agreement he was going to give to that statement. “So last week you had it delivered, this week you figured you’d bring it yourself?”

Jim ducked his head. “Thursdays are pretty dull and quiet, especially this close to the end of the term, I just fancied some company. You going to help me eat this before it gets cold?”

Bones slipped into the chair on the opposite side of the table from Jim and eyed the cartons littering the surface. “Just how many people are you planning on feeding?”

Jim grinned. “I’m a growing boy.”

“You’re something, alright,” Bones muttered, but Jim could hear the affection behind the grump of the words, and couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.


	13. 12 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/ZM7Fe9zb)   


Jim figured he owed a favor to just about everyone on campus, or at least that’s what it felt like. He hadn’t thought he would have that much trouble getting his hands on a pair of tickets to see some band that was heading up the charts before he was even born. He certainly didn’t think they would be that popular if their gig was in one of the downtown clubs and the tickets were handed out for free. Maybe he underestimated the power of nostalgia. Or the power of free entertainment.

He had two tickets for the gig next week. He didn’t want to think what it would cost him if he had to pay out for those IOUs he promised, and he only hoped it was worth the effort and that Bones appreciated them. He’d sealed them up in an envelope and slipped it into Bones’ messenger bag. Jim didn’t bother handwriting a note or attaching his name to them, hoping that Bones would figure out where they came from anyway.

He was staring blearily at the lecture screen in his history lecture wondering just how much use pre-warp politics was going to be in the middle of a firefight with a Bird of Prey when his PADD flashed with a new communication. He read the message with a smile. He’d already made sure his schedule was clear for Tuesday night, so of course he would be free to tag along with Bones to his gig. He’d have been an idiot not to, after all.


	14. 13 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/Hug8P0Fj)   


Jim had been buying Christmas decorations for weeks. They didn’t bother decorating the room last year, neither wholly comfortable with each other to bring up the subject of Christmas traditions, especially as Jim figured for Bones it would have been the first in a while as a single man. This year, however, Jim had started mentioning Christmas the minute Thanksgiving was over, making the most of Black Friday specials. There were some decorations that were mass market, some positively cheesy – especially the string of lights made up of flashing red noses on cartoon reindeers – then there were the one offs that had cost more individually than most of the sets.

Jim had attacked the room the moment Bones had headed out to the store, the contents of their fridge looking distinctly lonely and unappetizing. By the time he returned, Jim had managed to drape silver garlands and strings of lights from each corner until the room more closely resembled a grotto. Bones had finished putting the groceries away as Jim was straightening out the branches of the somewhat limp looking fake tree. Jim had pushed everything off his desk so he could sit the tree on it and it hardly dominated the room, but Bones was looking at it with an expression that clearly indicated what he thought of it. Jim ignored the look and handed him the box he’d collected all his decorations into.

“You can help me with this one.” Bones raised an eyebrow. “Just humor me, ok? It’s a Kirk tradition.”

Bones opened his mouth to say something - probably some complaint worthy of Scrooge – but he stayed quiet and nodded instead, his hands taking the box from Jim’s hands so carefully that Jim was momentarily stunned.

“Where do you want to start?”

Jim mentally shook himself and smiled. “We always used to start with the lights and garlands. One year, me and Sam started with the baubles and as soon as we tried to wrap everything round we kept knocking them off. Took us twice as long, but I’m pretty sure Mom took great delight in saying ‘I told you so’ and making us clear up all the dropped needles afterwards.”

Bones was quiet as Jim draped the small string of lights in place and wound silvery and blue tinsel around the small tree, but as he handed Jim the first of the ornaments he started speaking.

“We always saved dressing the tree until the whole family was together. It was pretty much a tree-dressing tour. We’d start at my mom’s sister’s place where she’d always have a blue spruce that my uncle complained about every year but was always the first to say looked good. To be fair, he’d drunk enough that a palm tree would have looked good to him by that point. We’d all sit down then to a feast, all 15 of us. As the youngest I’d always have to sit between my two grandmothers, which believe me was not the best seat in the house.”

Jim smiled as he placed a carved wooden angel where Bones pointed to.

“By the time I moved in with Jocelyn there were three more days of tree dressing and entertaining added to with the kids that had stayed in Georgia, but no-one complained, and we’d always end up at my Mom and Dad’s house on Christmas Eve. By that time we’d pretty much eaten to excess and drunken our fill, but damn if we weren’t artistes when it came to making a tree look good!”

Bones chuckled, but it had a sad quality to it. Jim kept silent hoping that he would continue to share what were clearly some old but happy memories, but Bones felt he’d shared enough and lapsed into silence. When Jim placed the last of the ornaments he stepped back to stand beside Bones. “Want to do the honors with the lights?”

Bones smiled but moved towards the tree looking for the little switch, when he found it the tiny LED’s blinked into life, sparkling off the glitter that lined some of the ornaments. “Looks good.”

“Yeah, not bad,” Jim smiled before frowning as his gaze reached the top of the tree. “Can’t believe I forgot the star though.”

Bones shrugged, and Jim was standing close enough to feel the movement against his own shoulder. “Each house and tree had its own angel. They used to get passed down through generations, each time a kid moved into their own home and the Christmas tradition knocked on their door the angel would be from their parent’s tree…”

Bones paused, and Jim’s smile fell a little as he turned to see the sad expression on his face. “Bones?”

Bones turned and met his gaze, forcing a smile on his face. “The room looks good. The tree looks good. Thank you.”

Jim nodded, but as Bones turned back to the kitchenette calling over his shoulder to see if he wanted a drink, Jim turned his gaze to the vacant top of the tree. The tree looked good, but it wasn’t perfect.


	15. 14 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/c81BVdNA)   


He hadn’t really intended for so many of the grand gestures of adoration that formed part of his “BP” to be food oriented. But then he’d only managed to come up with so many gifts that weren’t obvious or extravagant, and so many gestures that were manly and not out of character. He had been hoping for subtle, although he knew that Bones was unlikely to be as clueless as Jim hoped at this stage in the “BP”

Jim was never completely sure how Bones would react to things. He could say that he was a good judge of his moods, able to differentiate between a grump born of frustration from one bubbling over from a steaming rage. He could often diffuse a situation with carefully subtle manhandling. Or if that didn’t work, embarrassing himself until he could generate something positive out of his misery. When Jim turned up at Starfleet Medical at the ass-crack of dawn carefully planned to correspond to the midpoint of the graveyard shift Bones had swapped with a co-worker, he’d hoped his gift of coffee and breakfast would have been greeted with open arms of gratitude. Instead, Jim spent much of the time between bites of his bagel trying to convince Bones that he wasn’t on his way home after being kicked out of his conquest’s bed.

Jim contemplated head-butting the wall, carefully weighing it up against the lecture he’d get from Bones about infants and idiots. Maybe Bones was as clueless as Jim hoped, because the only other option was that he knew what Jim was doing and wasn’t going to succumb to the Kirk charms, waiting until Jim had exhausted all his efforts and then turning him down. But that was a no-win scenario, and Jim Kirk didn’t believe in them.


	16. 15 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/SgX4z18d)   


Jim had purposefully drunken the dregs of Bones’ bottle of bourbon last night just so he could play the guilt card when he replaced it with one he’d had stashed away for just such an opportunity. That it was a bottle of twenty year old Hirsch may have made Bones raise his eyebrow in what was undoubtedly his _Please, don’t try to bullshit me_ look, but Jim had tried to make it look like it wasn’t his choice to spend so much money and he’d just picked the last available option because he couldn’t deprive his best friend of his poison of choice.

They’d cleared away the pots and plates from dinner when Bones cracked the seal on the bottle and handed Jim a glass. They sat down together on the sofa, the only light coming from the Christmas decorations, and it was the expression of bliss on Bones’ face when he took his first sip that made it worth every penny.


	17. 16 December 2256

  
[](http://imgbox.com/ZaFdoWxS)  


The club was busy when they arrived, people mingling around the bar area as well as building up in front of the stage. Jim let Bones lead the way, gathering drinks at the bar before he led them to a less crowded spot to one side where they could slip into one of the semi-circular booths.

“Aren’t you planning on shaking your stuff out there or crowding the stage?” Jim asked. He craned his head trying to see if they could actually see the band when they came on from their position.

“I’m not much of a dancer,” Bones said, shaking his head. “I don’t really see this type of music being the kind of thing you can shake your stuff to, but if you want to prove me wrong feel free.”

Jim smirked. “Come on Bones, you know me, I bet I could find rhythm in anything.”

“That really wouldn’t surprise me,” Bones muttered, his voice barely audible over the background noise of conversations running through the club. “I’m not here to shake my stuff, and I don’t need to be hanging off the stage to be able to hear the music. Besides, being that close the sound systems practically bursts your eardrums. Wouldn’t surprise me if I had to treat some of these people later for hearing loss.”

Jim shook his head with a soft smile and sipped at his beer. He was onto his third when the band finally made it to the stage, the roar of the crowd drowning out the tail end of his re-telling of the way he’d managed to embarrass the fourth year cadet that was TA-ing his required physics elective. Any chance of conversation evaporated once the band started to play, so Jim settled back in his seat to listen, and to watch the way Bones was caught up in the music and the atmosphere. It didn’t seem long enough when the house lights came back up and the cheers died down into excited chatter. Bones settled back into the seating with a grin on his face.

They hung around for one more beer, Jim happy to let Bones talk about the gig and what the songs meant to him and the events he linked them too. It was after midnight when they stepped out of the club, Jim raising his collar up in an attempt to ward off the chill that swept through him with each gust of wind. Bones bumped his shoulder as they walked down the street heading for the transport back to the academy. “Thanks for getting the tickets, and for tagging along. I appreciate it, I had a good time.”

Jim felt himself warm, the bite of the wind lessening. “Me too, Bones, me too.”


	18. 17 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/HyL5x7Dy)   


Jim was practically bouncing when he got back to the dorm, the package tucked under his arm marked up with its origins in Georgia. Bones’ mom had comm’d him back to let him know the package would be arriving today and Jim had made sure he’d checked the mailbox before Bones could. He ripped into the box, finding the note laying on top. He smiled as he read the artfully curled handwriting, his face warming when he read the welcome she offered and the cheeky remarks that would suggest that she had no problem whatsoever with any attempts by Jim to “make her boy happy again”. Jim carefully folded the letter and slipped it into the bottom drawer of his bedside cabinet.

Returning to the parcel he slipped the white box free of all the cushioning. He removed the top to have a look at what had made Bones so sad when looking at their tree. The angel was obviously old, and Jim could imagine centuries of trees and generations of excited children opening presents under its watchful gaze. The paint was faded, slightly peeling in places on delicate wings, but the lines on her face were still sharp enough to see the serene smile on her face. He resisted touching, and slipped the lid back into place.

Digging around in the box he found a bag which he presumed was the ‘something else’ Mrs McCoy had referred to. In the bag was a second bag and another note, this one was a recipe and Jim smiled; he’d just have to save this for later. He got rid of the evidence of the package, just leaving the box with the angel in on Bones’ bed.

Bones wasn’t too late. With the end of semester looming, most classes had wound up already or were cramming in the last details that were needed before the exams they were due to sit early next year. Bones hung his coat up on the back of the door and toed his boots off. He paused in removing his cadet jacket when he spotted the white box. Jim tried to look away, but he needed to see the look on Bones’ face when he saw what was in the box.

His eyes widened, and Jim could see the slight shake of his hand as he reached to pull out the angel from its housing. He couldn’t be sure, but he could have sworn he heard Bones mutter something like ‘she gave it back’ before he turned his gaze to their tree. When the angel sat in her rightful place Bones stood for a long time just staring. Eventually he turned to Jim, and he pretended to ignore the wetness he could see in Bones’ eyes, giving him a warm smile. Bones swallowed visibly and gave Jim a brief nod before he disappeared into the bathroom. As the door slid shut, Jim swallowed heavily against the lump that had settled in his throat.


	19. 18 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/usvn2DKx)   


Jim changed his intentions for his “BP” the minute he got back to their dorm room cold, wet and miserable. He’d intended his run of Thursday night gestures to be even more lavish, going so far as to contemplate a picnic during Bones’ break this time, but Jim already knew that he was stuck in surgery that would likely not see him home until practically daylight.

There was something about winter in San Francisco that was just depressing. The city was rainy at the best of times, but not even the lights of Christmas and the building seasonal cheer could make spirits rise when there were endless days of cold drizzle, interspersed with downpours.

It was different being cold and wet when the precipitation was snow. There was an odd sense of peace that came with snowflakes rather than raindrops. The drenching was more serene and picturesque, muffling everything, and Jim had never minded it. However, here and now, if Jim was cold, wet and miserable, then Bones, once his surgery was over at Medical, was going to be cold, wet, miserable and plain exhausted to boot. The only plus was that there were no more classes until after winter break.

Jim borrowed the heat pads from the room mate of the Vulcan on the floor below them. B’Lan had gone back to Vulcan during the break and Jim had bet on him not needing anything remotely thermal on the desert planet. He’d borrowed the heat pads with a solemn promise to return them the next day with no incriminating evidence on them. Jim had bitten his tongue at the insinuation, forced a smile and a word of thanks.

Jim had turned the lights down low and was trying his hardest to look like he was solidly asleep when Bones finally walked in. He’d refused to allow himself to drop off and had been blinking at the wall in front of him for what felt like hours. He tried to relax as he followed the sounds of Bones getting ready for bed, the tap in the bathroom that squeaked a little if you’d shut it off too tight, the dull thud of boots hitting the floor, and the soft rustle of the sheets as Bones settled in.

It was the loud sigh, bordering on a moan of pleasure that had Jim smiling. The whispered gratitude and a hushed ‘ _God, I love you right now_ ’ left Jim lying awake for a long time after Bones’ snores started.


	20. 19 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/qJ7FbzGy)   


 

Bones hated shopping. Bones hated dressing up. Bones hated having to go out to buy clothes to dress up in with a desperation that would put an addict to shame. Jim wasn’t all that keen on shopping either, and definitely not with braving the cold and the hoards of Christmas shoppers, but Jim’s innocent question at lunch on what Bones was wearing to the Academy Christmas Party the following day had been met with a blank stare, closely followed by a rant of epic proportions that Jim was fairly sure resulted in Bones effectively claiming Christmas parties were for brown-nosers and freeloaders. _Fairly_ sure because he may just have zoned out a little whilst wondering if Bones was that passionate and energetic in bed… God he hoped so.

It had taken Jim’s not-so-inconsiderable persuasive skills to bundle a cranky tired Bones into his jacket and onto the transport to take them downtown. Jim’s “BP” was not going to fail because Bones was wearing a sweater rather than a shirt. He’d spent a lot of time, effort and credits on finding the perfect cuff-links and Bones was going to damn well wear them! He just had to find him the perfect shirt to wear them with.

Bones made a beeline for the department store, seemingly determined to pick the first suit he came across and catch the next transport heading back to the Academy. Jim indulged him right up to the point where he literally did pluck the first suit he came across from the peg and moved towards the register without even glancing at the size. Jim grabbed his arm to stop him and ripped the brown monstrosity from Bones’ hands. Turning back to Bones once he’d deposited it on the rack he was determined to meet stubborn with stubborn. From the look of Bones’ crossed arms and narrowed brow, even stubborn might not have been enough. Without saying a word, Jim grabbed hold of Bones’ elbow and marched him back out of the department store and into the outfitters he’d originally aimed for.

He’d bought his own suit from here, impressed by the range, the quality and the price. The service had been pretty good too, and he figured Bones might behave if the assistants treated him as a grown adult, even if he was behaving like a petulant child.

Jim finally let go of Bones when he stopped in the center of the store. “What size are you?”

Bones blinked at him.

“You must know what size you are.”

Bones sighed. “The last time I bought a suit it was my wedding. I’m a few pounds of muscle heavier and whole lot more jaded now. I don’t intend on spending an entire evening looking like I’ve got a stick up my ass like last time, and I sure as hell am not wearing a goddamn noose around my neck. And frankly, the symbolism of that remark cuts a little too close to reality.”

Jim huffed. “So no tie. Fine. Will you at least wear a shirt under the suit?” Jim hoped he wasn’t being too obvious.

Bones turned and eyed the display of shirts, a riotous rainbow of colors that was close to damaging retina’s with some of the more lurid shades. “If it’s plain and casual and not obviously part of the spectrum, then yes.”

Jim sighed in relief before he turned and easily caught the eye of one of the assistants who appeared more than eager to assist in a sale when he introduced himself as Andrew. Jim smiled and pointed at Bones. “He needs a suit, nothing overly formal and something that will look good with a casual shirt and without a tie. No idea what size.”

Jim bit his tongue as Andrew took a long, hard look at Bones’ uncomfortable form, his eyes raking up and down long legs and across wide shoulders. Jim hoped it was a purely professional assessment or he might have been taking their business elsewhere. Bones’ face took on a pinched, horrified expression when Andrew produced a scanner and waved it over nearly every inch of his body. Jim tried a reassuring smile that twitched when Bones’ attention turned to him. Jim could only hope he wasn’t intending to murder him in the messy and painful way his eyes promised.

He dropped onto the sofa outside the dressing rooms in relief as Andrew steered Bones behind the curtain. His fingers drummed against his thigh in syncopation to his thoughts as he watched Andrew move back and forth to the dressing room with arms of suits and hangers of shirts. Jim could hear muttering, Andrew’s overly enthusiastic tones a stark contrast to Bones’ deep southern drawl, and although he couldn’t understand everything that was said it did at least sound from Bones’ tone that he was being polite.

“I don’t need to be paraded about.”

Jim bit his tongue and sighed at the words, but Andrew was clearly immune as he pulled back the curtain. Jim tried not to laugh at the misery on Bones’ face. That, combined with the stiff posture that suggested that Bones was desperately trying to avoid getting creases in the suit had Jim smiling anyway. The suit was a deep navy with pale pinstripes that did wonders for Bones’ shoulders, but he really didn’t look comfortable, and the pale blue shirt made it look far more formal than was intended. Jim smiled encouragingly. “Looks good, but it’s not quite right for the party.”

Bones sighed in relief and cast a clearly triumphant _I told you so_ look at Andrew who merely shrugged and pushed Bones backward pulling the curtain shut behind him. There was a discussion that seemed to be erring towards an argument, stopping only when the curtain was flung back by Bones this time. “Well?”

Jim opened his mouth to comment and then promptly shut it again. He didn’t whimper. He may have had to hunch forward a little to hide his response, but he definitely didn’t whimper. He also may have nodded a little enthusiastically and raised the hand not covering his crotch in a stupid thumbs-up gesture that made him look like a three year old, but there was definitely no whimpering. Jim was, however, fairly sure that the black shirt had lost a few buttons after Bones put it on… and if it hadn’t Jim was going to make sure it had in time for the party, because that column of neck should never be covered up. And really, it was a crime that Bones didn’t wear suits all the time, especially as that gray one really did awesome things to his ass… and Jim’s crotch, but he was saving that confession for Christmas Day. Maybe. If his “BP” worked.

Bones looked halfway between shell-shocked and smug on leaving the store. Jim wasn’t sure if the shock was due to him parting with credits for a suit, or the reaction he got from Andrew when he started gushing over the ensemble. He knew the smugness was due to Bones insisting on the black shirt rather than the white one. He was quiet though, barely saying a word until they were back at the dorm. He hung his purchases on the door of his closet and stood staring at them.

Jim pulled the drawer of his cabinet open and dug out the box holding the cuff-links that made up his “BP”, holding the box in suddenly sweaty palms while he waited for Bones to turn round. When he did, Jim immediately held out the box. “I got you these to go with the suit. It’s an early Christmas present but I figured they’d be more use tomorrow than a few days after the event. I hope you like them,” he said, hoping the nerves didn’t show. “I mean, if you don’t I can always change them.”

Bones frowned as he took the box, flipping open the top. He stilled, his eyes flicking quickly to Jim’s face before returning to the box. He lifted one of the black enamel circles out of the box, the light in the room catching on the silver embossment of the caduceus symbol on top of the cufflink.

Bones smiled, a soft curl of his lips. “I like them. They’re perfect. Thank you.”

Jim breathed deeply in relief and nodded. “You’re welcome.”


	21. 20 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/8qbnMaiX)   


 

Jim knew he would look good in his suit, but next to Bones he felt like the kid that borrowed his Dad’s clothes, and not for the first time wished he’d developed broad shoulders. He sighed and undid the top button of his shirt and contemplated getting rid of the tie, but he’d not stubbornly endured the argument with Bones about neckwear only to have him direct that smug _I told you so_ look in his direction less than an hour into the party.

He’d waved off Bones’ questions about lacking dates and him not actually booking a place at the party, at which point Jim had maybe failed in his innocent approach and ended up having to confess that he’d booked them both tickets the moment they went on sale. Thankfully Bones had just sighed and shaken his head, although that had turned into a scowl when Jim had tried to joke that Bones was his date for the evening. Thing was, it hadn’t been a joke to Jim; he had every intention of being the attentive date and not ending the evening throwing up or drunkenly trying to perform a tonsillectomy on Bones with his tongue. Although he had thought long and hard on the latter.

Jim smiled in thanks as Bones handed him one of the drinks he’d collected. “So,” Jim started. “You feeling a little more of the Christmas spirit now you’re here?”

Bones took a long sip of his bourbon and let his gaze roam around the large ballroom. Starfleet had really pulled out the stops, hiring out pretty much all of the recreation areas of the Transamerica-Pyramid Hotel. The hotel had decked the outside of the pyramid with thousands of glowing lights making the historic building look more like a giant Christmas tree than the up-market hotel and museum it was. The inside was just as bejeweled with red and gold that gave off an air of much needed warmth to counteract the chill in the evening air. The smell of fresh pine from the huge decorated fir tree in the lobby mingled with the spicy scent of mulled wine and the enticing aroma of the food that they were about to sit down to. When Bones’ gaze finally returned to Jim he had a soft smile on his face and Jim figured it couldn’t get much better.

The meal had been perfect, their table seating an odd bunch of cadets spanning all five years of the academy and pretty much every discipline. They all got along and everyone soaked up the opulence of the venue and the hospitality with respect. Jim had been to a few Christmas parties over the years where the dessert was usually the first victim in a food fight, or the trigger for an impromptu dash to the bathroom. He was glad that this was different.

They retired back to the bar in the ballroom after the meal was over, finding a quiet table in a darkened corner lit only by a holo of a roaring fireplace and the golden glow from the lights hovering above the dance floor. Jim felt relaxed and content, tensing only when a goddess in a red dress headed over to their table and asked Bones to dance. Bones laid on the southern charm in a bid to lessen the blow when he declined, and Jim could fully understand the brief pout of disappointment that crossed her face before she moved away.

“You could go dance you know,” Jim said, mentally kicking himself for making the offer.

Bones shrugged lopsidedly as he lifted his glass and took a sip. “So could you.”

Jim ducked his head. “I kinda like it right here,” he admitted.

“Yeah. I kinda do too,” Bones said softly.

Jim smiled, raising his glass to clink against Bones’ in a silent toast. If his “BP” didn’t work, then at least he knew he had a friendship that was valued by both sides.


	22. 21 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/mFsYD5bh)   


 

It was mid-afternoon before Jim had finally managed to get hold of a copy of the holos that had been taken at the party. Tracking down the owner of the camera hadn’t been easy, and based on how green Gary had looked, Jim was just lucky Gary was awake enough and not totally indisposed at some point to answer his comm. Jim flicked through various images of people he recognized, some he didn’t, pausing to save any images that had either himself or Bones in, no matter how peripheral Bones was to the subject of the photo. He was looking for the one he was sure Gary had taken when he’d finally managed to persuade Bones that a picture of them together was a good thing. Seemed Bones hated having his photo taken almost as much as he hated flying.

When he finally came across the holo, his heart seemed to skip a beat. It had turned out better than he’d hoped. Bones was leaning into him, his posture relaxed. The slight upwards turn to the corners of his mouth soothed away the scowl he’d had on his face when Jim had pestered him about posing for the shot. All together, Jim figured he was looking at the sexiest man alive. And as far as shots went, he supposed he didn’t look too bad either.

Jim had been feeling pretty good about his chances of success with his “BP”, certainly the last few days had led him to hope that there was something there in Bones’ actions that meant he would be receptive this time to Jim’s come-on. He was glad the photo turned out well, because the closer to Christmas Eve they got, the more anxious he was that the whole thing wasn’t going to work.

He pulled the holo frame from his sock drawer and sent the image from his PADD to the frame. As the image came to life within the silver surround, Jim placed the frame on the cabinet between their beds. Bones came back from making coffee, and as he held out Jim’s mug he stilled as he spotted the new addition.

“I guess that turned out ok then,” he said after Jim tugged the coffee out of Bones’ hand and broke the spell.

“Yeah, I thought so,” Jim said simply, taking a grateful sip of the hot brew and willing the alcohol-induced sluggishness away.

Bones grunted and shuffled over to his bed, cradling his own mug. They spent the rest of the afternoon discussing the gossip from the party, and who was likely to be feeling the worst after their antics. Jim tried to fight his smile every time he saw Bones’ gaze drift towards the holo, tried to hide just how often he caught himself looking at it too.


	23. 22 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/3akSqfGe)   


 

Jim had been carefully planning today with the sneakiness of an Intelligence Agent and his fingers crossed behind his back.

_Objective #1: Find out which of Bones’ fellow doctors could keep quiet._

_Objective #2: Convince targeted colleague to assist in arranging duty rotas without letting the cat out of the bag._

_Objective #3: Beg and plead and then downright blackmail them into giving Bones time off over Christmas, and if he had to bring up Bones working every public holiday for the last year and a half then so be it._

_Objective #4: Stop being so smug; feign surprise and joy._

Jim had nearly missed the moment Bones found out his schedule. As it was he’d barely made it back to the dorm when Bones’ PADD dinged. He slipped his bookmark into the book to keep his place before turning to pick up the message. There was a softly muttered “ _…the Hell?_ ” before he picked up his comm.

Jim listened to the one-sided conversation as Bones tried to work out whether there had been a mistake or not in the shift scheduling at Starfleet Medical. His tone was a cross between surprise and irritation as he seemed to think that him not being on shift was a sleight to his abilities and his label as a cadet. A faint flush of color rose on his face as he listened to the response to that particular jibe. Whatever had been said had knocked Bones off his stride a little, and it was a rather shell-shocked “Merry Christmas to you too” that ended the call.

Bones lifted his head to look at Jim. “They gave me Christmas off. I’m not due back on shift until the 28th.”

Jim smiled brightly. “This is awesome, Bones. We can go shopping for food tomorrow, hang out at the party in Cochrane Hall tonight… I’m pretty sure they’re still incorporating Poker Night. Gary was talking about swapping the chips for peppermint Starlights. Mind you I’m not sure he’ll be that glad to see you considering you cleaned him out the last three times…”

“Jim…”

“… and then it can be you and me Christmas Day. I have this great recipe for sweet potato, and I’m sure you have a few southern cooking tips after so many tree dressing parties, and we can eat and drink too much and just chill…”

“JIM!”

Jim blinked. “What?”

Bones stared at him with an amused expression on his face and Jim had no idea what his response was going to be. “Sounds good.”

That wasn’t what he expected, and Jim couldn’t stop the grin that split his face.


	24. 23 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/hTSAL8Nb)   


“What is it?”

Bones stared at the contents of the glass Jim was holding out to him with an expression that was more akin to horror than interest.

“Eggnog,” Jim said brightly. “I made it to an old family recipe.” He just wasn’t intending on admitting straight off just whose family the recipe had come from.

Bones sniffed at the contents, a frown on his face before he finally helped himself to a small sip. There was an almost comical expression on his face as the taste registered and he swallowed thickly. “I’m beginning to wonder just what you and my mother have been up to.”

Jim grinned. “So I managed to make it ok?”

Bones smiled slightly. “Yeah, you did good,” he admitted, before swallowing another mouthful.

Jim took a big sip himself, swallowing quickly before erupting in a coughing fit. Bones was laughing as he thumped Jim’s back. “Shit Bones,” Jim croaked when he finally stopped choking on the bite of the drink, “how the hell did your mom cook the dinner after drinking this?”

Bones chuckled again. “We’re Georgian, Jim. First thing you learn to do is hold your liquor. The second thing you learn is which liquor actually tastes of anything good.”

Jim’s respect for Mrs McCoy rose as he eyed the glass in his hand. It rose even more when he realized the next morning that it had only taken three glasses of the stuff for him to pass out.


	25. 24 December 2256

  
[ ](http://imgbox.com/0Ma4eRiU)   


 

Twenty four days. Ok, so there’d been some extra pre-planning that had gone on prior to December, but twenty four days of subtle and not-so-subtle gestures had led to this one moment. And Jim had lost his confidence. The last day of November and he’d been full of determination, and knowledge that his plan wouldn’t fail. The last week however, and he’d started to wonder if he had any chance of succeeding, or if he did succeed if he’d mess up everything that he already had. Jim had felt so much closer to Bones over the last month that he couldn’t face losing what he had now when looking to take that final step.

He’d set a reminder on his PADD to not back out, hitting postpone every time it beeped at him. There were globs of flour, sticky fingerprints and even a smear of cranberry on the screen now. Bones had asked if there was something he needed to take care of based on how many times he’d interrupted their mammoth baking activities and food prep to silence the chirps. Jim wasn’t sure he’d hid his guilty expression, and he knew that as the day had dragged on his periods of silence extended and his mood fell, that there was no way he was hiding anything from Bones.

He glanced at the chrono for the third time in the last ten minutes, the noise from the movie they were watching - or Bones was watching – an irritable back-noise. Bones huffed out a loud sigh.

“Spit it out, kid.”

Jim started guiltily. “What?”

Bones crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Yesterday you were acting like a kid in a toy shop, today you’ve been edgy, jumping out of your skin every time your PADD beeps, and generally more miserable than me. That’s not like you; so what’s going on?”

Jim opened his mouth to reply that it was nothing, his PADD choosing the exact same moment to chirp again. The speed at which Bones moved surprised him, and he only had a moment for horror to creep in when he realized that Bones had grabbed his PADD and was shutting off the reminder. Jim stayed rooted as Bones flung the PADD on Jim’s bed, his mouth opened to say something, anything, but he had no idea where to start.

“Mistletoe, huh?”

Bones’ voice was calm, and Jim could read nothing in it at all. He toyed in his head as to whether to throw it off as a joke, or whether to actually admit that he wanted it. He licked his bottom lip, biting it as he uttered a soft “Yeah,” his gaze diverted to where his hands were tightly clenched in his lap.

“Did you go out and buy some?”

Jim gave himself away when his hand drifted to rest over the pocket of his jeans, the small sprig having sat there all day. Technically he hadn’t bought it, he’d managed to get some from one of the botany cadets. He huffed a deep breath as he pulled the plant from his pocket. The berries were warm and verging on crushed, one of the leaves slightly broken at the tip and he pulled it off the sprig. He fingered the ends of the remaining leaves waiting for Bones to comment.

“So what’s stopping you?”

Jim’s head shot up at Bones’ words, his eyes scanning his face to try to discover what was behind the comment: a joke, indulging him… want? Bones’ expression was non-descript, the only thing Jim could say for sure was that there was no hint of teasing. Jim got to his feet slowly and shuffled to stand in front of his friend, his eyes never leaving Bones’ face. He raised his arm slowly until the sprig was held aloft just above Bones’ head, and slowly leant in until his lips were a breath away from touching.

He breathed in a deep shaking breath before he pressed his lips lightly to Bones’. He held them there a few seconds, but as he felt a miniscule movement from the lips he was touching he tilted his head away. Bones had an amused expression on his face and Jim cleared his throat looking for words to make light of the kiss.

“You can do better than that.”

Jim felt the tremor in Bones’ hands as they held his face, his heart was beating fast as Bones closed the gap between them and pressed his lips to Jim’s. Bones settled on an open-mouthed kiss to his lips, and Jim felt the tickle of warm air as he breathed deeply before pressing harder, sealing their mouths shut, his tongue flicking out to swipe across his lips. Jim whimpered and opened his mouth, granting entry to Bones’ tongue. The mistletoe fell from Jim’s hand as he clutched at the material of Bones’ shirt, letting himself get lost in the kiss, in Bones, in what he hoped was just the start of something epic.


	26. 25 December 2256

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a great holiday!!

  
[](http://imgbox.com/oBZbpBAY)   



End file.
